Stolen Croix De Fer Bike on Gumtree

Hi all. I had my CdF stolen a few weeks back. I really got my hopes up of getting it back when it appeared on gumtree the next day. Unfortunately, despite the photo having loads of bits to identify it as mine, the police haven't yet got it back. The thief is on CCTV. His name and postcode are on gumtree. The neighbours saw him take the bike. He appears to be known to the police.

Of course i've tried to buy it, but he's not responding. Anyone got any other tips?

Also - anyone know whether GPS trackers are worthwhile? A frame marking is only any good if the police find the bike! I knew it was gone within an hour of it being taken so with a good tracker, I may have found it.

Hi all. I had my CdF stolen a few weeks back. I really got my hopes up of getting it back when it appeared on gumtree the next day. Unfortunately, despite the photo having loads of bits to identify it as mine, the police haven't yet got it back. The thief is on CCTV. His name and postcode are on gumtree. The neighbours saw him take the bike. He appears to be known to the police.

Of course i've tried to buy it, but he's not responding. Anyone got any other tips?

Also - anyone know whether GPS trackers are worthwhile? A frame marking is only any good if the police find the bike! I knew it was gone within an hour of it being taken so with a good tracker, I may have found it.

Separate thread on what to replace it with should it come to that!

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GPS trackers usually require a subscription, with many only working when close to the tag/item being tracked. Have you considered one of the many designed for cats/dogs. Small enough to hide in most place within the frame.

Tell the police you will complain to the police commissioner with a formal complaint about how useless they are even when presented with the necessary information and that you will be sending a copy of this to your MP. Give copies of evidence and notes regarding any contact you have had with police if this does not get them into action.
Make sure you screen print anything from online as evidence such as the advert.
Lastly tell the f*****s that they will be sued for not doing their job properly for the cost of the replacement bike plus costs.

Just go round there and take it back. It is what I would do, but then I have got history on this and have recovered stolen bikes on two occasions in the past by confronting scumbags in the street when seeing them riding around on said bikes.

The neighbours saw him take the bike. ........ I knew it was gone within an hour of it being taken

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Great neighbours you have there! Saw your bike being stolen but didn't bother trying to prevent the theft or come and tell you. It's not like they didn't have time to confront the thief or raise the alarm......

Hi all. I had my CdF stolen a few weeks back. I really got my hopes up of getting it back when it appeared on gumtree the next day. Unfortunately, despite the photo having loads of bits to identify it as mine, the police haven't yet got it back. The thief is on CCTV. His name and postcode are on gumtree. The neighbours saw him take the bike. He appears to be known to the police.

Of course i've tried to buy it, but he's not responding. Anyone got any other tips?

Also - anyone know whether GPS trackers are worthwhile? A frame marking is only any good if the police find the bike! I knew it was gone within an hour of it being taken so with a good tracker, I may have found it.

Thanks all. Not used to all this quoting malarkey (first time on the forum) but will try and answer all points. Firstly, I don't know his exact address (GPS may have helped!). Have been looking for the shed in the photo of the ad but not found it yet. Had I known exact address I'd have gone round - with mates - he seems to be at secondary school but is into some hard drugs by look of things and doesn't seem to live with his parents any more. Various people have tried to buy but no joy. Suspect he may have realised putting it on gumtree was daft. Police put a nice letter through his door asking him to return it. He phoned me up and denied stealing it. Neighbours are elderly in sheltered housing so I can't be too hard on them - didn't realise the bikes were being stolen. Locked gate could well have been left open by one of the neighbours, its a magnetic latch. Ad is below.

Tell the police you will complain to the police commissioner with a formal complaint about how useless they are even when presented with the necessary information and that you will be sending a copy of this to your MP. Give copies of evidence and notes regarding any contact you have had with police if this does not get them into action.
Make sure you screen print anything from online as evidence such as the advert.
Lastly tell the f*****s that they will be sued for not doing their job properly for the cost of the replacement bike plus costs.

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Police commissioner couldn't care less - by statute he/she has no involvement in operational policing. Most he'll do is walk down the corridor and slap the letter in a police officers in tray. Ditto your MP.

If you wish to complain do so in person or in writing to a senior officer. Alternatively, complain directly to the IPCC, although in most cases they simply pass the complaint back to the force concerned.

Do bear in mind that the police are bound by RIPA. They are prevented by law from simply ringing the bloke up, arranging a meet and then slapping handcuffs on him. A detailed application has to be submittted, which takes time and requires a high degree of evidential support. This is likely to include such things as a statement from yourself, photos or other evidence that the bike in the ad is yours, etc.

The only exception to this is where life of limb may be at stake, in which case the Supernintendo may accept an oral briefing and given an oral authority, but if anyone puts a floor wrong there they could end up in court personally liable for infringing some peace hippie's privacy.

Also they can not ask or encourage you to ring the bloke up and arrange a meet without a RIPA authority.

Also the police aren't liable for the loss of the cycle, unless it was stolen during a declared riot. Threatening legal action serves only to waste your time, make you look like a pranny, and get in the way of achieving your goal.

The obvious thing to do is phone in with your incident number, and find out which officer is dealing with your case. You can then quiz them as to where it's at. Be prepared to make yourself available to give a statement, and have to hand proof that the bike in the ad is yours (simply your word is unlikely to be enough) . He'll then have everything ready to get a RIPA authority, and then they can try and grab the feller, either by setting him up, or by obtaining the details of the subscriber from the website (always assuming he registered with his own details).